Set Up
by SiriuslyInLove-X
Summary: Lois would never know why Charlie hadn't told her about him leaving to go to Romania. He had kept it secret. He had broken her heart, and she wasn't sure if she could bear seeing him again, but Mrs Weasley thought otherwise... CW X OC
1. The Order of Phoenix

_Chapter One_

As the night grew darker, and the street lights shone overhead, the grimy, littered square became more alive than it had been that afternoon. The quiet square was strewn with broken glass bottles, old newspapers and pungent smelling,overflowing bin bags. A slim figure rushed down the street, treading carefully on the pavement and listening to their surroundings attentively. Number eleven was a shabby building, the broken gate hung onto the fence only by its hinges, and the small garden was cluttered with junk wood, tin cans and glass bottles. Immediately, as the figure walked past this garden, a black door sprung out of nowhere between houses number eleven and thirteen, followed by walls and windows. With a spring in their step, the figure skipped up the dirty steps to the black door, before pulling out their wand and tapping the door once. After the short sounding of chains, the door swung open uneasily, and the figure stepped inside.

In the hallway of number twelve Grimmauld Place, there was darkness. Confidently, the figure stepped forward, allowing the door to swing closed behind them, before walking into the darkness. Suddenly, dim lights began to flicker on as the figure made their way down the corridor to the door at the very end of the passageway. The figure continued down the hallway, oblivious to the overturned rug ahead, and unfortunately tripped over it. There was a loud crash as the figure knocked into a coat stand which tumbled over.

'Shit!' the feminine voice hissed, as she clambered to pick up the fallen furniture.

There was a tortured scream, and the figure jumped in horror. She stood, her wand drawn, scanning around for the owner of this blood-curdling screech. 'FILTH! SWARMING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS LIKE VERMIN! BE GONE!'

The door ahead creaked open, and the bright light from the room shone into the hallway. The figure stared, unable to speak as the voice continued to wail and scream. It seemed as though the whole house had awoken. She was gently shoved aside as a man with long black hair stormed down the hallway. She watched him as he roared at whatever it was that made that ear-splitting sound, and pulled, with great effort, a pair of curtains closed, until the wailing stopped.

'Lois?' The figure turned, immediately recognising the warm, welcoming face before her. She smiled as Mrs Weasley bundled her into a bone-crushing hug. 'It's been so long since I last saw you, dear,' she said, before holding her at arms length. 'You've grown into a lovely young woman.'

Lois blushed, 'Thank you, Mrs Weasley. You're looking well, yourself.'

Mrs Weasley chuckled, 'Why thank you, dear. Now, don't you worry about what just happened, we'll explain everything once the meeting is over. You will be staying with us, won't you?'

Confused, Lois furrowed her eyebrows, not quite understanding what Mrs Weasley meant. 'Staying with you? I didn't bring anything with me, Mrs Weasley. I was under the impression that I would be returning home after the meeting,' she said.

'Oh, I couldn't imagine you going back and living all alone in that house of your's, Lois, dear. I do insist that you stay with us, at least for the summer. There are plenty of rooms –'

'You can't make the girl stay if she doesn't want to, Molly,' the man with the long black hair interrupted, as he waltzed up the hallways towards them. He grinned a boyish grin, before offering his hand, 'Sirius Black. It is a pleasure to meet you.'

Lois blushed, and glanced down at his hand before taking it and shaking it lightly. 'Lois Mayweather,' she said, introducing herself with a bashful smile. Although, he seemed older than she had expected, Sirius Black was rather handsome. He had somewhat hypnotizing, dense grey eyes, and very aristocratic features.

Sirius Black stared at the girl before him, until he noticed her rather bewildered expression. 'Forgive me. But your name seems rather... _familiar_,' he said, quietly, as he continued to stare at her. 'Sorry, sorry! Come, let me introduce you to everyone.' He took Lois by the arm and led her through the doorway into the brightly lit room. Lois gazed around the room, recognising very few of the people present. Sirius cleared his throat, 'Everyone, this is Lois Mayweather, newest member of the Order.'

Lois Violet Mayweather was a quiet but popular girl at Hogwarts. She was Head Girl in her day, and a very talented dueler. Upon leaving Hogwarts, with excellent exam results, she had begun training as a Healer. Although, due to the fact that she wasn't enjoying herself as much as she had hoped, she quit and found a job working in a bookshop in Diagon Alley. She enjoyed the quiet life, and since her parents died, she was used to living and being on her own. It was the previous week that Lois bumped (literally) into her old friend Nymphadora Tonks, and they began catching up as it had been years since they had last seen each other. It was then that Dora told her about the Order of Phoenix, and suggested that she come along to the meetings. Although the meetings had already began, this was the first meeting that Lois had attended. She was anxious. People who knew her would not have expected her to get so involved, as she was seen as a timid, shy, young lady, who spent her days rearranging bookshelves. And she certainly didn't look the type to go out and fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. But she was willing to prove them wrong.

Lois followed Sirius into the room, and the same dank, damp smell seemed ever present. The room itself was rather cramped; dozens of chairs had been crammed into the room for the meeting. The dull, peeling wallpaper, which was seen in the hall, had been replaced by rough stone walls. Upon the walls, ancient pots and pans were hanging, whilst in the centre of one of the walls was a large cupboard. The room was dimly lit by a large chandelier, which hung over a grand mahogany table, around which the other members of the Order where gathered. In the corner, at the far end of the table, sat a man with the Weasley red hair, tied back in a ponytail and he was wearing an earring with fang dangling from it. He looked up from the roll of parchment he had been gazing over, and upon noticing the new arrival, he grinned broadly.

'Mayweather!' Bill said, grinning. 'How've you been? Last time I saw you was – '

'Graduation,' Lois said gloomily. Bill wasn't the only Weasley she hadn't seen since then. Charlie, without giving her any notice at all, landed the bombshell that he was moving to Romania to study dragons, on the night of the last day of Hogwarts. That had been the last time that she had seen him.

Bill sent a look of compassion Lois' way, as she glanced around the room, feeling rather hopeful that Charlie might be present. 'He's still in Romania, Lois –' She frowned, and returned her attention to Bill '– He was meant to be here, but Dumbledore sent him an owl to explain that he wanted as many foreign wizards brought in as possible, so Charlie's been looking for people on his days off.'

'Oh...' Was all Lois could manage in an attempt to reply. 'I though you would be in Egypt at the moment, or have you quit Gringotts?' she asked the eldest Weasley, as she subtly changed the subject. Talking about Charlie was never easy, and it was only rarely that he was mentioned – not that she complained.

'I've got a desk job now,' Bill informed her. 'It means I'm closer to home, and I can help more with the Order. I do rather miss working out in the tombs though, but anyway – where are you working now? I heard you quit Healer training! Wasn't sure if it was true or not, 'coz last time I spoke to you, you were dead set about it.'

'Mm... yeah, I did. I just … didn't enjoy it. I mean – oh, I don't know. It didn't feel right or something,' Lois mumbled, slouching into the empty, wooden chair beside him. 'Well, I got a job in a small bookshop in Diagon Alley, so I've been working there for the past year. The wage isn't much though, but it pays for the necessities.' As she looked around the room, she found that she was yet to be introduced to a few people. In the far corner of the room, sat a man who was smoking from a dirty, battered pipe and looked as though he was dressed in rags, and, sitting a few seats away from her, was Lois' old Potions teacher, Professor Snape; she certainly didn't want to be introduced to him. 'So... how's your family keeping?' she asked, turning her attention back to Bill.

'Well, Dad's still working in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. And, of course, he's still meddling with all those plugs and any other random things that he finds. I think Mum's given up warning him against it –'

As if on cue, through a large door at the back of the room, Arthur Weasley, a thin, balding man entered, carrying a large pile of scrolls. Once he had set the scrolls onto the large wooden table, he scanned the room, but was unaware of the newest member of the Order.

'Good Evening, Mr Weasley,' Lois called out, and waved once he glanced over.

'Evening, Lois, dear,' Mr Weasley replied, with a warm smile, and continued with what he was doing. Lois wasn't entirely sure that he had registered with the fact the they had not seen each other in almost four years, yet he replied as though the last time that they had seen each other had been yesterday. She chuckled, as Mr Weasley glanced back over at her, with a somewhat confused expression on his face. 'Lois! It seems like only yesterday – how're you, my dear?' he asked, hurrying over, and taking a seat in the chair next to Bill.

'I'm very well, Mr Weasley. How're you?' Lois replied politely.

'Busy – what with the Department, and the Order meetings, and such,' Mr Weasley said in a rather stressed tone. 'I suppose you've already seen Molly?' he asked. 'She's been suggesting all week that you should stay with us for a week or two after the meeting – and well, you know my Molly, it's hard to persuade her once she's made her decision. But, just so you know, you don't have to stay at all, but you're welcome if you want to.'

'Thank you very much, Mr Weasley, that's very kind of you,' Lois said. 'But, I'm afraid I haven't brought any of my belongings, so it would be silly to stay. Although, I'll drop by as much as I can; when I'm not working and such.'

The door through which Lois had entered, opened once more and nine witches and wizards traipsed through the doorway and into the room, followed by Mrs Weasley. Lois recognised only two; Dora and Mad-Eye Moody. Once Dora, one of the last people to take their seat, fell into the chair next to Lois, the meeting commenced. Professor Snape was the first to speak. He began informing them of Voldemort's plans, and any information that he had received. Lois was rather confused, until Dora whispered in her ear of how Professor Snape was a double agent, and was relaying any information he could get from Voldemort back to Dumbledore and the Order. Snape continued, and began speaking of how Professor Dumbledore had a shrewd idea that Voldemort was attempting to build up his army, and gain more followers. It had been the Order's job – since Voldemort's return – to try and convince people that You-Know-Who had in fact returned, but because of the Ministry's attitude, it was harder than expected. The meeting went on for what seemed like hours, and Lois was finding it hard to keep up with everything that was being discussed. She hoped that Dora wouldn't mind filling her in a bit before she left, then perhaps, she would know exactly what everyone was talking about. As the meeting drew to an end, and several of the members left, Lois found herself trying to piece things together, to try and make sense of everything. But it wasn't working.

Lois sat, listening in attentively as Bill and Mr Weasley spoke in hushed tones over a couple of scrolls of parchment. Dora had left the room, along with Sirius and Mrs Weasley, presumably to gather the rest of the Weasley family, who had been staying upstairs, and Harry Potter, who had arrived shortly after Lois had. It wasn't long before they re-entered the room; Mrs Weasley scolding her husband and eldest son for not clearing away the pieces of parchment and plans off the table. It was plainly obvious to see that she didn't want either Harry or any of her younger children to find out anything from the meeting.

'This is Lois Mayweather, Harry. She's new to the Order.'

Lois looked up to see Sirius gesturing towards her. She smiled pleasantly at the raven-haired boy, 'Hello Harry.' He smiled and returned his greetings. Lois watched as the rest of the Weasley family wandered into the room. She sat quietly, wondering if any of them would recognise her. It was only when Ginny sat in the empty chair beside her, that she thought it suitable to say something. 'Hi Ginny.'

The fourteen year old turned to stare at Lois, until her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. 'LOIS!' she screamed, throwing her arms around the sandy haired girl; Lois laughed. 'We haven't seen you in ages! I missed you – _and_ I was left to put up with those oafs!' she said, jerking her thumb towards her elder brothers; Fred, George and Ron.

'Well, aren't you glad I left you that book on jinxes?' Lois asked, winking. 'I left that specifically, so you could... uhm... _take care_ of your older brothers. I hope you tried some of them out.'

'Of course I did,' Ginny grinned devilishly. 'So, how've you been? I missed having another girl around the house, you know.'

Lois and Ginny chatted excitedly about everything that had happened since they had last saw each other. To Lois, Ginny was like her little sister, and if she was perfectly honest, she had missed having someone to gossip with. They continued to talk until Lois asked Mrs Weasley if she wanted some help with making the dinner, after Dora had ever so subtly been turned down on her offer. She left her seat, and began to help Mrs Weasley prepare the vegetables for the stew.

'Ginny?' Hermione asked, as she sat down in the chair beside the youngest Weasley. 'How do you know Lois so well?'

'She was Charlie's girlfriend –'

'Spent most of her time at the Burrow with us,' Fred interrupted.

'We all thought they were gonna get married,' George added.

'What happened?'

**Just a little something I wrote at midnight last night because I couldn't get to sleep. I had been toying with the idea anyways, but couldn't be bothered starting it. Anyway, give me your opinion as to whether I should continue it or not. Y'anno... Reviews; please (: **

**Cheers, guys!**


	2. Tea With Tonks

_Chapter Two_

**'June 30th 1991, 06.24pm – Gryffindor Common Room … for the _last_ time.**

It seemed very strange that I had already spent seven years at Hogwarts; the time seemed to have flown in. I sometimes wish it hadn't. After all, these last seven years have been thoroughly eventful, and I have to admit, enjoyable. I was in no doubt that I would indeed _miss_ Hogwarts. Not just the castle though, the people as well. The only person that I wouldn't miss, perhaps, was Professor Snape – but let's not talk about him. Similarly, as much as I was very grateful for being awarded Head Girl, it was not always a pleasurable duty. There are some things about it that I definitely will not miss. For one, having to write a speech for the Graduation Ceremony – which takes place in almost half an hour, I might add – and then recite it to the assembly.

I'm getting nervous even writing about it.

I had never been good at speaking in front of a large body of people. I always get nervous; my hands start to shake, and I can feel myself blushing insanely. Not to mention, I always forget what I'm supposed to say. I was rather thankful that Professor McGonagall informed me about it two weeks ago, which meant it gave me time to prepare. Although, in saying that, I believe Charlie wrote most of it... well, _I _didn't have a clue where to start, and Charlie's always been good at speaking in front of people. He _is_ Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, after all. So he speaks in front of a lot of people most of the time. Okay... _seven_ people isn't that many... but you get where I'm coming from... right?

It would be so much easier if Charlie was up there speaking for me – he's so much more easy-going and laid-back than what I am. He's so laid-back, he's almost horizontal! Whereas, I am not. I'm rather panicky and anxious about these sorts of things. It's weird how we're so different though. I mean, I'm pretty quiet; I don't play quidditch; I read a _lot_ of books and I hate standing in front of large crowds. Charlie on the other hand, speaks to anyone and everyone; he's _very_ good at Quidditch; the only books he reads are ones to do with animals; and he plays Quidditch in front of a large crowd rather often. Must be that opposite attract thing... And to think, I would have never been friends with him if it hadn't been for that Mandrake in second year. Thank you, Mandrake! I don't know what I'd do without my Charlie. He keeps me calm. And stops me from worrying too much. I do worry a lot. But I never worry that much around Charlie. And well, he's just amazing, really. It's like he can read me like a book. And … I do rather love the way he...

Never mind; I'm sure you don't want to know about _that_...

… Or do you?

No, I don't think you do. Even if I do really, really want to tell you. It's very ..mm.. secret, you see? But then again, you are my journal, and I do usually tell you everything.

Even how I do rather think that I'm in _love_ with Charlie Weasley.

It does look nice down on paper, doesn't it? Sigh.

Dora seems to think that I've gone mad. She's persistently rolling her eyes at me and mumbling stupid things about how I'm head over heels with Charlie. But surely I'm not that bad. Am I? It's not as if I call him ridiculous names like 'Charlie-kins' or some equally revolting pet name. And I don't cling to him like a Grindylow or feed him food at the dinner table. In fact, we only walk to class together, sit together in classes that we have with each other, and _occasionally_ take up that very comfortable armchair in front of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. Of course, we do _other things_ as well though... But, I'm not constantly with him. For one, Charlie doesn't like the library that much. And I don't particularly enjoy trekking through the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid – nothing wrong with Hagrid, of course, he's quite a dear.

Sometimes, I reckon, Dora gets a bit _jealous_... I'm not saying that she is, but sometimes it feels like it. She's still one of my best friends though. I mean, who never gets a case of the green eyed monster? (Jealousy, for those of you who aren't familiar)

It's almost time for the ceremony...

I panicked there; couldn't find my speech. Let's hope that doesn't happen again before the time comes, or I might just have heart failure.

I should be okay though. I've been practicing my speech with Charlie, and Dora, so I do know most of it. But still, it'll be entirely different when I'm up on that podium. Charlie says that I have to watch him when I'm doing my speech – of course, I would never have thought of that. Hopefully it'll work, and I won't be as nervous. It'll be like those dozens of times that I practiced the speech with him. When we .. eh .. _didn't_ get distracted that was...

Mm... I better go, because I know that my ginger nut boyfriend is reading over my shoulder. Don't you know that reading someone's private journal is rude, Charlie?

'Private?' He says, 'It's not private if you leave it lying in the middle of the Common Room.'

The one time I forget to lift my journal – this was last year by the way – Charlie picks it up. And, of course, like any other normal person, he doesn't return it until a week later. According to him, my journal makes excellent bed time reading .. Pfft.

Right, rather sorry about this abrupt stop, journal. But, I must dash; I have a Graduation Ceremony to attend! Wish me luck!

**09.12pm – Girl's Dormitory **

I did it! Yes!

I am, generally very pleased with myself, because I did the speech, and didn't mess it up at all! And, they laughed! … In a good way of course. Not at me, with me. I think I might have died on the spot if they started laughing _at_ me. But still, I think it was because Charlie was there – that method definitely worked, as I didn't panic at all. Sigh. I can't believe it. I spoke for five minutes in front of a crowd of... _one hundred_. It might have been more, in fact. But that's still a lot of people.

Mum was there – she isn't looking too well – still managed to give me a bone-crushing hug after the ceremony though. I am a bit worried about her. Since dad died, she hasn't been the same. I know, I know, he's not my biological dad – but he's still dad to me. You already know that I haven't met my real father... I'm not sure I want to. But anyway, back to mum. She looked so frail, like she hadn't been eating. I did ask her if she was okay, but she brushed it off as though it was nothing. I suppose she just didn't want to dampen the spirits, but it made me wonder if there really was something wrong with her. I'll have to ask her again later...

The Weasleys were there too, of course. And, Bill was there! I hadn't seen him in ages; especially since he got that job working for Gringotts in Egypt. It was good to see him again; he's so easy to talk to. Bit like Charlie, I suppose.

Speaking of Charlie, I have to go. He said he had to speak to me. I don't think anythings wrong, because if there was, he would have told me. He normally does. Anyways, I promised him I would be down in the Great Hall for the Graduation Party in half an hour. And, well, it's been nearly forty five... Oops.

Well, I'm a girl, what does he expect?

**01.48am – Bedroom at home.**

I'm bloody confused. Let me write this down.

Charlie is now in Romania, and is going to study dragons. He left one hour and approximately forty minutes ago to get 'settled in' before the term starts.

_Why_ did I only learn about this two hours ago?

He just... _left. _He didn't even mention why he didn't tell me about it earlier!

Oh God... I'm going to start crying again.

Fuck sakes.

**05.07am – In bed.**

I can't sleep.

I just can't stop thinking about it. All I want to know is why he didn't tell me sooner. I was under the impression that he wanted to be a professional Quidditch player – that's what he kept telling me! I just want to know why he kept it secret from me. I would have understood. It's his life, so he's entitled to do what he wants. But he could have at least informed me about his plans. Rather than doing it the night of Graduation, and then walking off, leaving me standing there crying tears of hurt and confusion! I thought he cared about me...

He was acting a bit funny after I came back from the bathroom though. He seemed a bit nervous, or something. Probably because he knew he still had to tell me he was for pissing off to Romania!

Sniff. I can't believe he did that.

I loved him for God's sake. And he just – '

'Lois!' A voice echoed through the house. The fair haired girl, who was sat in the attic of her cottage, jumped at the sudden sound. She glanced down at the dusty pages of the journal, before frowning, and snapping it shut. 'Lois! Are you there?' The voice shouted once more. Lois clambered to her feet, and walked quickly towards the trapdoor of the attic; she pushed it down, and the stairs unfolded. As she climbed down the stairs, she was met by the familiar face of Nymphadora Tonks. Dora was a metamorphmagus, meaning she could change her appearance at will. Today, she was sporting bubblegum pink, short, spiked hair. Her eyes were a bright blue, and she had a small button nose. 'Wotcher, Lois! What were you doing up there?' Dora asked, her eyes gazing up into the attic. Lois stepped off the ladder, and it snapped up suddenly.

'Oh .. nothing. Just cleaning,' Lois lied; though, it wasn't exactly a lie. She had been intending to clean the attic out, but came across a box filled with her belongings and began to rifle through them. 'Would you like a cup of tea?' she asked, gesturing Dora into the kitchen, before walking into the tiny room behind her.

'That'd be nice, cheers!' Dora said, as she pulled out a chair and sat at the table. There was a small clunk, and as Lois turned around, she noticed that the former Hufflepuff had knocked over the ceramic vase in the middle of the table with her elbow. Dora sent her an apologetic look, before returning the vase to its original position.

Lois clattered through the cupboards, finding teacups for Tonks and herself, before filling them to the brim with steaming, milky tea. She carefully set one of the teacups in front of Dora, as she didn't quite trust her with handling it. Doing as Dora had done moments before, she pulled a chair out from under the table and sat down. 'So what brings you here?'she asked, as she watched Dora blowing on her tea.

Dora looked at her friend with a knowing expression. 'Molly,' she said bluntly, before she lifted the teacup. She let out a gasp of shock as she accidentally tipped some of the tea out of the teacup. Lois went to get out of her chair and fetch a cloth, 'Oh, no, it's okay, Lo' – this has happened so many times before, I can't forget the spell to mop things up,' Dora said, setting the teacup down and fishing her wand out of her pocket. She muttered something, and instantly, the patch of tea on her robes disappeared.

'So … Molly?' Lois asked, willing Dora to explain.

'Mmhmm... she's been talking about trying to get you to stay at Grimmauld for days,' Dora informed her. 'Every time I'm 'round, she always asks 'You been speaking to Lois, dear?' – it was clear she was insinuating for _me_ to ask you to go and stay. But, she finally _asked_ me this morning – caught me before I disappeared and asked me to invite you to dinner – I'm staying for dinner too by the way. Then she said to suggest that you bring some belongings and stay for a week or two –'

'I'm perfectly happy staying at my own house; I've been on my own here for years –'

'Yes, but Molly hasn't seemed to grasp that. She seems to think that since you've joined the Order that you're practically family again –'

'I was never family to begin with...'

'Well, if I'm being honest, everyone thought that you and C – ' Lois sent her a scathing look. Dora grimaced, 'Sorry – but you can see where I'm coming from? It seems that Molly has got that stuck in her head as well, and you know what she's like when she's on a mission.' Lois sighed, and took a sip of her tea. That Mrs Weasley never gave up. 'At least come for dinner? Then I won't have to face Molly for failing my mission completely.'

'You were only inviting me to dinner, it wasn't exactly a tough mission.'

'Trying to get you to go anywhere is a tough mission, Lo' – you're a hermit – oh bugger!' Dora exclaimed. Tea was now advancing over the table, having been spilled out of Dora's teacup. Lois rolled her eyes. It was safe to say that having Dora over for tea, was always going to be a messy affair. 'Sorry, Lois. I'm such a clutz,' Dora moaned, as she brought her wand out once again, and with a quick flick, the spillage of tea was gone.

'It's okay, Dora. It's not like you can help it,' Lois said compassionately, before taking another gulp of tea and draining the whole thing. She thought for a moment. 'I guess I'll come for dinner –' Dora grinned, '– but I'm not staying over. What's the point of having my own house when I don't live in it?'

'That is true, ' Dora said, getting to her feet – she knocked her knees against the table, lifting it slightly and causing the empty teacups to topple over. 'Sorry,' she whined, as she grabbed the teacups and set them the right way up. 'Well, I must be going. I have to go to the Ministry before I pop over to Grimmauld for dinner – oh yes – Molly said to be there just after half five, and dinner will be served around six.' Lois nodded, taking in the information. 'Do you mind if I use your Floo? Your fireplace is connected to it, isn't it?'

'Oh, yes, it is,' Lois said, 'It's just through here.' She led Dora out of the kitchen, through the hall and into the living room. In the middle of the back wall, was a very grand, marble fireplace, which had various pictures sitting atop the mantlepiece. The small pot of Floo powder was sitting in its holder to the right of the fireplace. 'There's the powder,' Lois said, pointing to the small ceramic pot.

'Cheers, Lo',' Dora grinned, as she strode towards the fireplace. In her hand, she took a small handful of the green powder from the pot, and then stepped into the large fireplace. 'Remember about dinner,' she said with a wink, before throwing the powder around her feet. As she was engulfed by the green flames, she shouted; 'Ministry of Magic!'

Then, she was gone. Lois sighed; what had she gotten herself into?

**I don't know why, but I'm finding this story so easy to write! Hope you liked the chapter! And, of course, I love to read what you think of the story, so REVIEWS please! Cheers, guys!**


	3. Bookworms Aren't Always Innocent

_Chapter Three_

Lois Mayweather stood in front of the large, black, oak door of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Strangely, she was rather nervous about having dinner with the Weasleys and the rest of the Order, which was almost impossible as they were such a kind and welcoming bunch of people. It was an odd kind of nervousness, the kind she had only ever felt once before. And that was when Charlie Weasley had invited her over to have dinner with him and his family for the first time. She brushed down her dress, smoothing out the creases, before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. After fumbling around in her bag, she held her wand out in front of her before slowly reaching her wand up to tap the oak door. For a moment, she paused, cursing her nerves, before plucking up some courage and tapping the door once. There was a loud clinking of chains, and the door swung open. Lois stepped inside the house, and began to make her way down the hall; behind her, the front door slammed shut. Carefully treading along the hallway, she could hear the laughter from within the kitchen, and this instantly calmed her nerves. She smiled to herself, before turning the handle of the kitchen door and opening it to reveal the Weasley family, Harry, Hermione, Dora, Sirius, and a man whose name she did not know.

'Lois!' the loud, welcoming voice of Mrs Weasley boomed through the kitchen. The short, squat woman rushed towards the fair haired girl, her arms open in a welcoming embrace. Before she knew it, Lois was engulfed in a bone-crunching hug. 'So glad you could come, dear! We're having a party to celebrate Ron and Hermione receiving Prefects badges – I'm so proud; my little Ronnie! A Prefect!' She sent a proud glance towards her son, who had turned a dark shade of pink. 'Now, I must go and put the finishing touches to the decorations in the basement – make yourself at home, dear!' Mrs Weasley sent one more proud glance towards her son, before scurrying away and busying herself in the kitchen.

Lois took a seat at the kitchen table next to Sirius, before taking off her coat and turning her attention to the youngest male Weasley. 'Looks like you're taking after Percy, eh, Ron?' Lois said with a wink.

He scowled; 'Not you too!'

'I'm just kiddin'! Congratulations, by the way. You too, Hermione, ' she said, turning to the pretty friend of Ron, who smiled in return. ' And trust me, being a Prefect isn't that bad, it has its advantages, if I do say so myself.'

'You were a Prefect?' Hermione asked.

'Yeah,' Lois replied with a smile, before adding, 'I was Head Girl as well.'

'Really? What was it like?' Hermione inquired. She seemed very interested in the subject at hand; Lois thought that she would be a likely candidate to be the Head Girl of her year.

'Difficult,' Lois replied bluntly. 'It was hard to balance schoolwork, my social life, Head Girl duties, and trying to organise the Prefects – especially when they aren't always cooperative. It's quite stressful as well, especially around holidays, like Christmas or when there's a major event happening. In the year I was Head Girl, the Head Boy – Jasper Jackson – and I had to organise a Yule Ball. That was a particularly stressful time for me, as I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and well, everything had to be perfect –'

'It sounds like such hard work,' Hermione said.

'It was, but it was enjoyable. And you're given your own bedroom, bathroom facilities and you share a common room with whoever is Head Boy, so it's well worth the hard work. Not to mention, you're allowed to dish out detentions as well –'

'Oh, we know all about _that_, don't we, George?' Fred interrupted, with a mock glare sent Lois' way.

'Too right we do!'

'We were _first year_, and she still manages to hand us _twelve_ detentions –'

Lois laughed, 'You deserved them!'

'You were practically family! You could have cut us some slack!'

Lois' expression darkened. 'I wasn't going to treat you any differently than the other students just because of _that_,' she snapped, angry that they had brought up her relationship with Charlie. 'I wasn't going to let you run amok in the school, pull pranks on people and create chaos just because I was – because of – because of _that. _It would have been known as favoritism!'

Everyone at the kitchen table seemed taken aback by Lois' small outburst; it was most unusual for the normally quiet girl. Fred broke the silence. 'All right, all right, take a chill pill, Lo' – we were only messin',' he said, with an impish grin.

Lois was rather embarrassed. She would never normally lose her calm, but recently, it had been dwindling away; the slightest thing would put it off balance. 'Sorry, really... I don't know what came over me,' she said quietly, avoiding eye contact with anyone at the table. 'Please, excuse me, I …eh... I think – I think I'll go and help Mrs Weasley.'

She pushed back the kitchen chair, got to her feet, and quietly made her way towards the short flight of stairs which lead down to the basement, without speaking or even glancing at anyone. Lois hated how short her temper was becoming, but she recognised a pattern with when it occurred, and that was when she was stressed, or tired. True, she hadn't been sleeping as well, and had recently began to rely on a weak sleeping draught to put her to sleep. She remembered her mother used to have trouble sleeping, and she wondered if this was something that ran in the family. She wondered the same thing about disease that killed her mother. Josie Mayweather died when Lois was twenty one, of an illness which the Healers were unable to cure. They gave her countless potions to drink, and tried countless spells, but nothing would cease the illness. It weakened her mother's muscles and bones, and made her look as though she were a skeleton. Every morsel of food she ate, she threw it up. It was a torturous disease.

Lois became her full time carer. She did everything for her; but her mother did often refuse her care. She didn't want to subject her daughter to taking care of her helpless mother; she hated taking Lois away from living a normal life. But Lois always insisted. She was patient, and caring towards her mother, and always put her first. Her mother often said that Lois would have made a great Healer.

When she died, Lois deeply regretted dropping out of Healing, and she has done ever since.

She stopped at the foot of the stairs and watched Mrs Weasley set the trays of food on the large table in the middle of the basement. The room was brightly lit, with little tea lights scattered around the room and hanging across the width of the room, there was a large banner which read:

CONGRATULATIONS RON AND HERMIONE; NEW PREFECTS!

Lois smiled at all the effort that Mrs Weasley had put in; the room looked wonderful! 'Mrs Weasley? Would you like some help?' she offered.

'No need, dear! We're all finished! But, would you be a dear and call everyone down here for me?'

'No problem at all, Mrs Weasley!'

Lois climbed the stairs, and beckoned everyone to come down for the small feast. Once Bill and Mr Weasley had arrived and everyone down in the basement, and had got themselves a drink, Mr Weasley toasted to the two new prefects. Everyone drank to them, and applauded in congratulations. The food that Mrs Weasley had prepared looked simply delicious, so it wasn't long before everyone began to fill their plates.

'I was never a Prefect myself,' Dora said, as she picked up a small Yorkshire pie and set it on her plate.

'That's because you were a trouble-maker!' Lois said, taking a sip of her Firewhiskey.

'Yeah, well, we aren't all bookworms like you,' Dora shot back, sticking her tongue out. 'I can't remember you pulling any half-decent pranks!'

'Oh really? Well who gave you the idea for that prank on Snape in fourth year? The one which had him wearing robes which appeared black to him, but red tartan to everyone else? Oh, oh, wait! That was me!' It was now Lois' turn to stick out her tongue.

'Okay, I got to admit, that was a nifty piece of work – but it was a one-off! I was pulling off successful pranks every week! Until you became Head Girl – I still can't believe you actually threatened me –'

'It was for your own good. You needed a good set of NEWTs to become an Auror!'

'Please forgive me, but did I hear that right? A Head Girl threaten someone?' Sirius asked incredulously, as he reached out and picked a baked potato from the table and set it on his plate.

'It was for her own good!' Lois replied.

'What was this threat exactly?' Sirius asked, glancing between Dora and Lois.

'She said she'd sneak a potion into my pumpkin juice which prohibits a metamorphmagus' powers!'

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh, 'Tonks, you do know there's no such potion?'

'What?' Dora's attention snapped towards Sirius; her mouth agape. She scowled before turning her attention towards Lois, who was doubled over with laughter. 'You tricked me! Lois Violet Mayweather! I can't believe you did that! You made me study because of a potion that doesn't even exist!'

'I'm sorry, Dora! But I wasn't actually going to use a spell or potion on you! What sort of friend would I have been then? And you know I only did it so that you would study for once,' Lois replied, laughing at how gullible her friend had been.

Dora laughed, and pulled her friend into a one-armed hug. 'Well, it definitely paid off! But I still can't get over you! Pulling a prank... on _me_!'

'Where you ever a Prefect at school, Sirius?' Ginny asked.

'Oh no, definitely not! I would never have been made a Prefect. I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin got the badge, he was the good boy,' Sirius said.

The man named Lupin, joined in the conversation. 'I think that perhaps Dumbledore thought that by giving me the badge, I would have had an influence over my best friends. Or perhaps exercise some control over them,' he said. 'I need scarcely say that I failed dismally.'

'You obviously didn't flaunt your authority like Lois then, Remus,' Dora said, 'She even gave her best friend a detention!'

'That was a joke!' Lois laughed.

'Yeah, well, you only told me that I needn't go after I'd already been and done my time!'

'Awk, lighten up! It was only Flitwick anyway, it wasn't as though he made you do something horrible.'

'I had to write lines, actually,' Dora corrected her. 'Gosh, why am I only remembering all the bad things about you?' she teased.

'Because they are few, and therefore they stand out!'

'Mayweather, you talk a load of old tosh!'

'Well, Tonks, you look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards!'

'At least I don't work in a bookshop!'

Lois laughed, 'I like working there! You wouldn't, of course, you'd knock all the shelves over due to your clumsiness! I did always wonder how you passed on Stealth and Tracking...'

'You're not the only one!'

The two young witches laughed; it was like old times when they would take the piss out of each other for no reason at all. Lois missed those days. Back when everything was perfect. Of course, Lois knew that the Firewhiskey had helped to bring out her confidence slightly, but she and Dora complimented each other perfectly, which was why they had been best friends throughout Hogwarts. They were busy giggling over a joke that Dora had told, when Fred thundered down the stairs into the basement.

'MUM! CHARLIE'S HERE!'

Lois froze. The glass that she had been holding slipped between her fingers and dropped to the ground where it smashed into tiny pieces that scattered across the wooden floor. The room was silent, and everyone's eyes were on Lois.

_Charlie's here_.

She began to feel faint. Her face paled. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head; darkness.

**I had fun writing this chapter! Especially the banter between Lois and Dora! Anyways, I always want to know what you think, so REVIEWS would be great! Thanks for reading! ~Tori **


	4. Want Some Help?

_Chapter Four_

**Flashback: Second Year**

Lois knelt down to help Dora tidy up the pot of soil that she had just knocked over – Nymphadora Tonks was perhaps the most clumsy person that Lois had ever met. She was constantly tripping over things, knocking things over and genuinely creating chaos wherever she went. But she was kind, caring, funny and a generally nice person, which was why Lois liked her. Dora sent her an appreciative smile when she noticed Lois grabbing handfuls of the soil and throwing them back into the pot.

'Knock something over again, _Nymphadora_? God, you're such a clutz, aren't you?' Lois and Dora glanced up to see snooty Slytherin Blake Lorimer standing before them with his cronies flanking his sides. Dora frowned, and her hair flared red to match her blushing cheeks. 'Not to mention, you're a freak as well,' Blake said, turning his nose up at Tonks' sudden change in hair colour.

Lois scowled; how dare he insult her friend! She scrambled to her feet, and placed her hands on her hips. 'Leave her alone, you big bully!' she snapped bravely.

Blake sniggered, 'So you have got a voice, Mayweather! And there was me thinking you were just a nerdy, little bookworm who never spoke and had no friends,' he sneered, smirking at the timid Gryffindor, who was feeling very belittled.

'I do have friends,' Lois demanded quietly, tears stinging her eyes because of the harsh words the Slytherin had spoken.

'I wouldn't exactly call the circus freak a friend,' Blake sneered back.

'Stop calling Dora names!' Lois said, bunching her fists angrily.

'Or what, Mayweather? Gonna beat me to death with your favourite book?' the Slytherin taunted. His cronies guffawed loudly, whilst Blake smirked at Lois' crestfallen expression. 'What's wrong, Mayweather? Cat got your tongue?' The Gryffindor remained silent, looking away from the Slytherin's jeering expression. 'So much for being a Gryffindor, eh. You're pathetic,' Blake hissed, stepping forwards and shoving Lois out of his way.

The petite girl lost her balance, and stumbled into the bench, grazing her arm against the rough wood. She winced, and fighting back tears, she brushed herself down and returned to stand beside Dora. 'Are you okay?' the metamorphmagus asked worriedly; Lois nodded. 'It's all my fault, I'm so sorry!'

'It's not your fault he's a bully, Dora,' Lois replied in a hushed tone. The Gryffindor tried her best to ignore how much her injury hurt. Though the graze on her arm was rather small, it was throbbing painfully.

'Good morning class!' the class quietened down as a squat witch, who always seemed to have a large amount of earth on her clothes, waddled into the greenhouse. 'Now, today we'll be re-potting Mandrakes,' Professor Sprout informed them joyfully, as she made her way to the front of the greenhouse. Lois assumed that the rows of purplish green plants growing in trays in front of them, were the Mandrakes. 'Can anyone tell me the properties of the Mandrake?' she asked. Lois, as well as several other students, raised their hands. 'Yes, Miss Mayweather – and that's a nasty graze on your arm –'

Lois stuttered, and immediately covered the graze with the sleeve of her robe. 'It – It's nothing Professor! Please – a Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative, which returns people to their original state after they have been transfigured or cursed.'

'Very good! Ten points to Gryffindor,' said Professor Sprout. 'Now, the Mandrake is also very dangerous. Who can tell me why?'

'It's cry could kill you, Professor,' Jocelyn Green answered.

'Exactly. Ten points to Hufflepuff,' Professor Sprout said. 'Now, these Mandrakes are still young, so their cries won't kill you yet, however, they _will_ knock you out for a couple of days. Okay, so, everyone take a pair of earmuffs.' Lois and Dora took a pair of fluffy, pink earmuffs, and glanced excitedly at each other, anticipating what was going to happen next. 'Now, when I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are _completely covered_. When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs up. Okay, earmuffs _on_!'

Lois snapped the earmuffs over her ears. She could no longer hear a thing!At the front, Professor Sprout put on a pair of earmuffs over her own ears, rolled up the sleeves of her robe, and grasped one of the purplish green plants. She pulled hard, and Lois could tell that she wasn't the only one shocked, judging by almost everyone's expressions. In Professor Sprouts hand was what looked like a baby. A green baby, with leaves growing out of it's head, that was clearly bawling at the top of its lungs. Professor Sprout plunged the green baby into a large pot, and began covering it with compost until only the green leaves were visible. She gave the class the thumbs-up, and removed her own earmuffs. 'Okay, everyone understand what you are to do?' she paused briefly, waiting for anyone to attract her attention. 'Excellent, now, make sure your earmuffs are on securely whilst you work. Four to each tray – there is compost over here – pots are over there – and I shall attract your attention when it is the end of class.'

'This is going to be a disaster,' Dora grumbled, eyeing the plant on the bench in front of her. 'It'd be just my luck that I don't put my earmuffs on right.'

'Don't be silly,' Lois reassured her. 'You're good at Herbology.'

Within a few minutes, they were joined by a black haired Gryffindor boy, Lois knew by the name of Martin Jenkins, and a red headed boy named Charlie Weasley, who was also in Gryffindor. 'Hello!' Dora said hospitably, 'I'm Dora, and this is Lois.' She nodded in Lois' direction, who smiled shyly.

'Yeah, we know,' Martin replied, 'Lois is in our house, remember.'

There wasn't much chance to talk; everyone had their earmuffs back on, and were concentrating on the Mandrakes. For Lois, being rather petite was quite a disadvantage. She had tried several times to remove the Mandrake from the tray, but it didn't seem to want to come out of the earth at all. Lois was tired, sweaty and covered in earth, but she was also quite a stubborn person. With one almighty tug of the purplish green plant, the green baby was unearthed from the tray. She stared at it in awe; it was cute in a weird way. It thrashed about, waving its small limbs, and gnashing with its sharp, little teeth. Lois struggled to put the squirming Mandrake into the ceramic pot, as it continued to kick and grab. In all the commotion, the Mandrake managed to grab a handful of Lois' long fair hair, and was determined not to let go. She cried out as the green baby tugged painfully on her hair. Suddenly, someone tapped on Lois' shoulder, and she turned around, still wincing as the Mandrake continued to thrash around. Charlie Weasley stood before her, gesturing at the green baby with a deathly grip on a handful of Lois' hair.

_Want some help?_ He mouthed. Lois nodded; the redheaded boy grabbed the small limb of the Mandrake and tried to prize open its fist. After many attempts, Lois' hair was freed from the Mandrake's grip.

She smiled appreciatively towards Charlie. _Thank you, _she mouthed.

_My pleasure._

**End of Flashback**

'Bloody Mandrake,' Lois muttered groggily. Her head was throbbing, and she felt dehydrated. Squinting her eyes, Lois tried to catch a glimpse of where she was; she did not recognise the room. Leaning on her elbows, she pushed herself up to a sitting position. The room was dull, with wallpaper peeling off the walls. There was damp evident in the corners of the ceiling, along with the occasional cobweb. The furniture was lined with a layer of dust and dirt. She was unquestionably still within the premises of number twelve Grimmauld Place.

Not wanting to stay any longer in the creepy, decrepit room, she made her way towards the door of the room. She thought that it was rather inconsiderate of them to leave her alone in a house that she didn't know very well, especially when she could bump into someone she didn't want to at any moment. She opened the door, and walked out into the dimly lit hallway. After peering over the banister, Lois decided that she was on the second floor of the building, and began to make her way towards the stairs which would take her down to the ground floor. She walked cautiously past the many heads of house elves, which were stuck to plaques of wood and nailed to the wall. Lois had never ventured any further than the kitchen in this ancient building, and she was quite certain that things were going to remain that way in the future. The Ancient and Noble House of Black gave the petite woman the chills; she found walking through the dark, haunted corridors to be quite uncomfortable. When she made it to the ground floor, she continued down the hallway; dim lights began to flicker on before her. The door at the end of the passageway was illuminated by the bright light behind it: everyone was in the kitchen. Lois could hear the chattering on the Weasley family, Sirius and the other Order member; she wondered if Charlie was still there. She did not particularly want to be in his presence, for she sensed that it would be incredibly awkward for everyone. Without thinking much of it, Lois bent down and peered through the keyhole of the door. She could see very little; people kept bustling past the door.

'Shouldn't someone go and check on Lois? The poor dear won't know where she is!' said Mrs Weasley. Her voice was instantly recognizable.

'I'll go, sure.'

Lois paused, listening carefully. She knew that voice so very well; Charlie was, indeed, still present.

This time it was Bill that spoke, 'That might not be such a good idea, Charlie... I mean –'

'Well, it's now or never. Might as well get it over and done with.'

As Lois continued to spy through the keyhole, she saw a hand reach up and grab the door handle. As the door was pulled open, she gasped and quickly jumped back from the door, only to fall onto the brass coat stand, which toppled over under her weight. There was a shrill scream as Lois fell, and a loud crash as the brass coat stand connected with the hard, stone floor. The light from the kitchen was now spilling out into the dark corridor, along with the shadow of the one and only Charlie Weasley, who was gaping at the peculiar sight before him. Lois, still faint from her fall earlier this afternoon, was now also feeling rather dazed. She groaned, trying to pull herself to her feet. 'That bloody coat stand _again_!' she cursed, oblivious to the fact that Charlie was still standing there before her.

Once she had struggled to her feet, Lois brushed the dust and dirt off her robes. When she looked up, she found herself staring into a pair of familiar, dark, chocolate, brown eyes. Lois furrowed her eyebrows, and folded her arms, 'And what might you as well get 'over and done with', _Charles Weasley_?' she hissed wistfully. Charlie seemed rather shocked at her melancholic tone, and stuttered, incapable of stringing a sentence together. 'It's okay,' she said quietly, not looking him in the eye, 'I'm sure I can wait another four years for an answer.' Lois brushed past him, and made her way into the kitchen, which was deathly silent.

She sat down at the table, in the empty chair beside Dora. There was an awkward silence lingering around the room; Lois felt extremely uncomfortable. She leant back in her chair, ignoring the sympathetic looks everyone seemed to be sending her way. Suddenly, Dora elbowed Lois hard in the ribs, the fair haired girl glowered at her. 'What?' Suddenly, Tonks screwed up her eyes with a pained expression that Lois knew only too well; she snorted, as her best friend's nose morphed into what appeared to resemble Severus Snape's. 'Make your hair and eyes darker too!' Lois requested, her eyes wide with anticipation. Within the blink of an eye, it was as though the infamous Potions Master was sitting at the table. Lois laughed loudly along with several others who had been watching the 'performance'.

After what seemed like hours, and after the younger Weasleys, Harry and Hermione had retired to bed, only the adults were left present in the warm, cozy kitchen. Whilst Lois and Dora were quietly conversing over steaming mugs of hot chocolate, Molly Weasley was bustling away, collecting the many plates and dishes used that evening. The poor woman looked exhausted, and Lois could not help but pity her. Lois suddenly grabbed a confused Dora by the hand, pulled her out of her chair, and dragged her into the kitchen where Mrs Weasley was running the warm water into the sink. 'Mrs Weasley! How about you put your feet up, and let Dora and I wash and dry the dishes? Honestly, we don't mind,' Lois said, glancing at the Metamorphmagus for back up.

'We'd love to help, Molly,' Dora said, 'And you've been on your feet all day, you deserve a rest!'

Mrs Weasley still looked uncertain. 'We're not taking no for an answer, Mrs Weasley,' Lois said with a smile, put her hands on the stout woman's shoulders, and guided her towards the table where the rest of the adults sat. 'Go put your feet up; you deserve it!'

'Oh, thank you, dears,' Mrs Weasley replied gratefully; suddenly an expression struck her face, as though she had just remembered something. 'Oh, yes, I remember now! Tonks, dear? Would you mind taking a look in the lounge for me... there's some sort of creature in the cabinet in there, not too sure what it is though...'

'No problem at all, Molly,' Dora said, as she followed Mrs Weasley out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

With Dora gone, Lois began to wash and dry the dishes by herself. She was used to this, as she lived by herself, but she never normally had this much crockery to get through. Once she had washed and dried each plate, she placed them in the cupboard above the sink. But as she finished washing the last of the crockery, she found it increasingly hard to look ladylike as she struggled to reach up and place the dishes on the topmost shelves. Lois had never considered herself short, as such, at five foot and six inches, she was a medium height. There was one last plate to be placed at the very top of the pile, on the topmost shelf. Lois reached up, standing on her tiptoes, trying very hard to not drop the heavy plate, and place it gently on top of the others. But she was not succeeding.

'Want some help?' that very familiar voice asked.

'No, it's okay,' Lois replied stubbornly, stretching as far as she could, determined to not utilize Charlie's offer for some help. 'I'll get it,' she said, positively. She continued to reach up, but her arms were getting weak. Glancing down, she spotted a small, one inch, wooden ledge, which jutted out below the sink. Briefly, putting her foot on it, she pushed up slightly. There was a sudden snap as the wooden ledge collapsed under her weight. Lois gasped as she fell downwards, letting the ceramic plate slip from her fingers; she snapped her eyes shut, expecting to hear the plate shatter as it hit the hard, stone floor. But there was nothing. She squinted from under her eyelids; Charlie stood beside her, the large ceramic plate in his hand. She watched him as he reached up, and placed the plate on the top shelf with ease.

'Thank you,' she said bashfully, a small, grateful smile on her face.

'My pleasure,' Charlie replied.

**Hope you liked the chapter (: As always, I want to know what you think, so, please review! … pretty please! (: Thanks for reading!**

**Also, I have links to photographs of what Lois looks like, and what I think Charlie should look like on my profile! Take a look if you want (:**


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